Leigh Meyers wrote:
>
> Gleaned from BBC's "Have Your Say" page.
>
> Attack on US Iraq base: Your reaction.
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4116461.stm
>
> "This administration has shamed America. I am just sickened by what I see
> everyday in Iraq. I am almost to the point of turning off the television."
> --Theresa, Tampa, USA
Theresa's declaration reflects the point of departure for the anti-war movement in two senses:
1) We begin by mobilizing people so convinced; they are the core of our army.
2) But as the movement develops (if it does) we have to show more and more of the Theresas that what they say is wrong. The Bush administration has not shamed America; America (at least since the administration of Cleveland) _has been a shame_. (I know, one can go back to the beginning, slavery and genocide, but that to begin with merely confuses.) The Pullman Strike. The pacification of the Philippines. The rape of Cuba. Wilson's invasion of Mexico. Papa Doc. The overthrow of Mossedegh. The Bush administration does not shame America; it merely manifests that shame anew.
That is the step from anti-war to anti-intervention to anti-imperialism and a really serious resistance movement in the U.S.
Carrol